asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his meeting with the Executive Council of the ICTU; and if he discussed with them the growing dissatisfaction with the Programme for National Recovery.

2.

asked the Taoiseach if he will outline the matters discussed with representatives of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions at the meeting on 24 November 1989 to consider the future of the Programme for National Recovery; if any decisions were reached at the meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

3.

asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his meeting with representatives of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on 24 November, 1989; if the possibility of a second phase of the programme was covered; if any possible changes to the terms of the programme were discussed; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together. I met representatives of the Executive Council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on 24 November, with my colleagues the Ministers for Finance, Industry and Commerce and Labour, to discuss and review progress under the Programme for National Recovery.

As the joint Government/ICTU statement issued after the meeting made clear, the success of the programme in correcting the severe and unsustainable imbalances in the public finances, in returning growth to the economy and in reversing the disastrous trends in unemployment and employment were fully recognised. We agreed to consider measures and actions which would, within the programme, intensify the progress being made particularly as regards jobs, tax reform, living standards and social equity. That is the purpose of the ongoing review and monitoring provisions of the programme.

These and the other matters dealt with at the meeting are covered in the joint statement, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library.

I am calling Deputy Pat Rabbitte who has a question tabled on the subject matter.

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. May I ask him if he concurs with the views of the Minister for Labour that the contribution of the leading private companies to job creation has been a major disappointment, whether the recent statement by the Secretary of his Department congratulating the same private companies for their contribution reflects the Taoiseach's view and if he disputes the recent statement of the Minister for Labour.

I think there is general agreement that one of the problems we face is to translate the very satisfactory rate of economic growth, which we are now achieving, into jobs. Our efforts are directed to that end. For that purpose the Deputy will probably have noticed that I met the chief executives of the principal semi-State bodies yesterday to discuss with them how they could contribute to creating more employment within their spheres of activity. The position is that there has been a considerable turn around in the provision of employment in the private sector. As the Deputy knows the ESRI, for instance, have indicated that their estimate is that 11,000 extra jobs will be created this year and 19,000 next year. We would all agree that there is considerable scope for improvement in the private sector in the area of job creation.

I welcome the comments concerning the public sector but my question related to the performance of the private sector. May I ask the Taoiseach specifically if he is in agreement with the request put forward by Congress that there should now be a major review of industrial policy with a view to ensuring that the major private companies in particular make a more substantial contribution to job creation?

Yes, I would certainly support any possible examination of the private sector that would help us to translate economic growth into more jobs. Of course, in that connection we must always keep in mind that private sector enterprises have to be competitive and profitable and to some extent there is a conflict between the application of more technology, automation and so on and the provision of extra jobs. The dilemma really is to find a way in which private enterprise corporations can become increasingly efficient and competitive and at the same time endeavour to contribute to the provision of extra employment.